United Nations: The Israeli regime protested on Monday at the UN’s decision to ban panels on occupied Jerusalem and Palestinian citizens of Israel from an exhibition at the United Nations on various aspects of the land and the heritage of the Jewish people.

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon initially complained that three panels with photos and text had been barred from the exhibition which opened on Monday on a first floor corridor at UN headquarters.

But Danon said the UN decided at the last minute to allow a panel on Zionism to be included, which he welcomed as “a step in the right direction”.

The ambassador demanded that the UN allow the panels on Jerusalem and Palestinian Israelis to be shown as well.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Israeli ambassador and the non-profit organisation StandWithUs dedicated to informing the public about the Israeli regime.

It includes panels on Israeli Innovation, Green Technology, Humanitarian Aid, Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries, Tel Aviv and The People of Israel. The Zionism panel calls Zionism “the liberation movement of the Jewish people who sought to overcome 1,900 years of oppression and regain self-determination in their indigenous homeland”.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said “the panel on Zionism was not disallowed”.

He said “there was a misunderstanding because there was a question about a photo in that panel, and so it was initially communicated to the [Israeli] Mission that the panel could not be displayed”, but that was immediately revised and the mission was told it could be displayed.

The panel on Jerusalem calls the city ‘The Spiritual and Physical Capital of The Jewish People’.

It says “Jerusalem has been the centre and focus of Jewish life and religion for more than three millennia and is holy to Christians and Muslims as well”.

The UN General Assembly in October 2012 recognised a state of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and occupied east Jerusalem, lands Israel occupied in 1967. The Palestinians want occupied east Jerusalem as their capital but peace negotiations with Israel failed two years ago and have not been revived.

The panel on Israeli Arabs says they are “equal citizens under the law in Israel, the only proven democracy in the Middle East”. It says “they live, study and work side by side with Jews in communities all over the country” and “serve in the Israeli Parliament, vote in all elections, and enrich Israel’s diverse culture”.